Why WES

WES students stand out without burning out through transformative educators and an extraordinary and connected student learning experience. Grounded in current research and best practices that balance tradition and innovation, WES provides a dynamic learning environment that helps student develop creative thinking, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills through a rich and balanced program that includes:

Click HERE to see the outstanding schools WES students attend upon graduation.

At Washington Episcopal School, everybody belongs. Our community is comprised of a large number of international families as well as a significant number of families from the DMV.

We nurture the growth of the whole child and cultivate their cultural proficiency to enter the wider world as a kind, confident, and prepared global citizen.

A Diverse Student Body

Currently, WES students represent:

• 40% of students of color
• 25% of students have foreign citizenship or are first-generation US citizens
• 44+ different nationalities
• 5 embassies represented + IMF and the World Bank
• 10+ religious backgrounds including agnostic families and families with no religious affiliation
• 28% of families receive a Financial Aid award

Faculty & Staff
WES is committed to a diverse and inclusive community and seeks to hire and retain faculty and staff who will contribute to an environment in which all are valued and supported.

You can learn more on our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page.

We believe learning can and should be joyous, and we cultivate a sense of wonder, curiosity, and critical thinking through our experiential study trips. Whether it’s traveling to a local farm so our PK3 students can feel the soft hair on a baby goat or taking our Grade 4 students to a wastewater treatment plant, a WES education brings knowledge out of books and into the world.

These experiential study trips culminate in the ultimate experiential learning trips in Middle School. Every child studies geology in Southwest Utah in Grade 6, explores the history and culture of Italy in Grade 7, and puts their language skills to the test in France or Spain in Grade 8. These trips are provided at no additional cost. 

Today’s world is interconnected. We are all global citizens. These trips help our students see and understand a bigger world, as well as build confidence about their role in it. 

WES is an independent Episcopal school and a member of the National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES) and the Mid-Atlantic Episcopal School Association (MAESA). 

WES has a full-time Chaplain who teaches and affirms the beliefs and traditions of the Episcopal Church while also welcoming and celebrating a diversity of faiths, cultures, and heritages.

Episcopal principles and ideals are expressed through

• School Worship that is creative, inclusive, a regular part of school life for all faculty and students.
• Community Life in which reflection, prayer, and matters of the spirit are honored and cultivated.
• Religion Class that is meaningful, virtues and ethics focused, and fosters dialogue with other faith traditions.
• Service Learning that serves others within our school, local community, and throughout the world. We understand that to live out our school’s motto, “Be Kind,” we must give of ourselves to help others. 

Virtues of the Month

Our specially designed curriculum includes a comprehensive two-year cycle for teaching one virtue per month–18 virtues in all–engaging the members of the entire community in a unified focus on a featured virtue. 

• Year 1: Humility, Compassion, Thankfulness, Faith, Courage, Integrity, Patience, Self-Awareness, and Hope
• Year 2: Inclusiveness, Forgiveness, Generosity, Reverence, Justice, Loyalty, Self-control, Responsibility, and Perseverance

You can learn more about our Episcopal identity HERE.

Washington Episcopal School in Bethesda, Maryland, includes grades from Early Childhood (age 3) through Grade 8. We believe this model best serves the educational, social, and emotional needs of our students.

The Advantages for Younger Students: Kids Can Stay Kids

• First, the Early Childhood-Grade 8 setting offers opportunities for “little kids” to work with “big kids” who are older than they are but not as old as adults. This unique and special partnership helps the younger children develop self-esteem, conferred by the attention of older students.
• Second, as they progress through the school, the younger students are able to stay in a familiar, home-like environment where they are recognized and valued by a group of families and friends they have come to know over time.
• Third, an PK3-Grade 8 school is a place in which “kids can stay kids” until they are ready to look at high schools, without the expectation of acting as they think older students should behave.
• Fourth, by keeping students together through early adolescence, the faculty can focus its entire energy, expertise, and professional understanding on developing “the whole child,” without being required to split that focus on a highly differentiated age cohort with very different needs.
• Finally, students graduate at a time when they are best able to make a smooth transition to a new school. A student in Grade 8 has a far better idea of the high school best suited to his or her needs than a sixth-grader. They are also more ready to adapt to a new school environment, having left some of the “growing pains” of early adolescence behind and been allowed to develop a genuine, grounded self-confidence.